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'Follow your dreams', Chris Hoy advises graduates

Published: Tuesday, 30 June 2009   Category: Work Experience

As students of St Andrews received their degrees during their graduation, Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Sir Chris Hoy has told them to 'follow their dreams' as they enter the jobs market.

Giving a speech at the ceremony, the former St Andrews student told those about to face a gloomy graduate job market that they should aim to do whatever they wanted in life.

He said: "No matter how crazy the dream is, don't let people put you down or make you think it's not possible - because it is. If you work hard enough, anything is."

The athlete added that he did not regret dropping out of the university to move to the cycle training facilities at an Edinburgh velodrome.

Sir Chris, who won three top medals at the Beijing Olympics last year, was also receiving an honorary doctorate on the day.

Media reports about the graduate job market have been "exaggerated" and students should not give up looking for employment, according to Sean O'Connor, director of Gradcracker.com, who recently spoke to New Civil Engineer.